Quilts For Jake.

 Once we made all of the baby quilts for DD's friends, she decided she wanted to make one for Jake as well. She also wanted to try another pattern and chose a Star pattern. With me ironing and cutting again, it didn't take too long to make another quilt for him. They decided not to have his name on this one so quilting and binding didn't take too much time either.

 Jake certainly gave it hus tick of approval and loved looking at all the different fabrics.

 He's such a happy baby.

I also remembered to take a photo of him on the quilt I made him. They are in the US visiting his family there for 4 weeks and we are missing all of them.  Luckily he slept well on the plane and is his usual happy self. I'm keeping busy getting more tops quilted to donate before we start fulltime baby sitting.
Hugs, Jan Mac

More Finishes.

 Since we returned from Tasmania I've been concentrating on getting more tops quilted for donation. These have all been made by members of my Melbourne quilt group and will be going to Peter Mac Cancer Centre as they are all larger quilts.

Some of these tops have been made a few years ago and the other members of tye Gift Quilt Program and I, are working hard to get some of these older tops finished and donated. Some of our older fabric is being used for backings but we still have some quite yucky looking older fabrics so I'm thinking of overdying it in dark colours to make it more useable.
Plenty more tops to be finished though and I have also been making some of the larger tops into 2 smaller quilts for donation.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

UFO Progress.

I took 2 UFOs on our trip but ended up only unpacking one. Being forced to focus on just one meant that I got quite a lot done. You can see from the first photo where the project had stalled. The last 2 photos show my progress to date.
      I have started to add half stars along the sides and fill in the gaps. Doing a day sailing of 10 and a half hours back to Melbourne meant that I had more time to sit and stitch so I got a lot done then too. I even had another passenger asking for instructions as she loved what I was making.
     I made more stars while we were away and still have 3 to add. I need to make another 3 stars, or 9 if I decide to add another row. Once I have determined the size for the central part of the top, I will applique it to a border and then add another round of larger stars. DH can't believe I plan to donate this quilt to Peter Mac when there is so much hand piecing but I can always make another. I'm just happy to being completing another UFO.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

A Quilt For Jake.

 I was reminded that I haven't made Jake a baby quilt yet and all the other babies in the extended family have their personalized quilts, so I thought I'd better get one made for him too. I made this one from a half jelly roll because it had woodland theme fabric. This one will be used at our house as I also want to make an appliqued quilt with a woodland theme but I just have to design it first.

 I finished a quilt for my great nephew and just have one more to make for latest baby. I plan to get that one finished soon and hope there is a break in baby production. Lol

My DD's maid of honour had her baby girl so I was able to applique her name and get it quilted so she can gift it before they leave for the US at the weekend. We will miss them terribly but I have plenty of sewing and quilting to keep me busy.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Back To The Program.

 We had a great trip but are very happy to be home again. Thankfully the Melbourne weather is cooler this week and I've had a busy couple of days unpacking and then quilting. Thes 3 quilt tops were all made by members of my Melbourne quilt group,  AQA, and I've been happy to get some more of these tops finished and ready for donation.

We both really missed our little grandson, Jake,  and he is showing such an interest in everything around him. He is almost 6 months old and will soon be able to sit unaided.  In the meantime we bought him this little car which is basically a cushioned seat with a car steering wheel and makes various noices and lights.  He loved it and he loved being able to sit up to play. They are going to visit hus other grandparents in the US next week and will be away for almost 5 weeks so we will miss them all. On the other hand, I'm very happy to know that his other grandmother will be able to spend time getting to know him too. We are blessed to live so close now and share so many of his milestones. His cache of toys here is growing too as he is starting to get bored with the same ones. He is trying to crawl but can't quite move his head so he commando crawls but by the time they return home I'm sure he will be on the move properly.
  Hugs, Jan Mac 

Port Arthur.

 We'd been to Port Arthur before and enjoyed our return visit again. The buildings are set up with furniture from that time period and available to tourists to walk through and hear about living conditions in the 1830s when the convict settlement was established.

 A photo shows how the buildings  were placed near the harbour.  Some of them have survived but not all. The lovely sandstone buildings make the settlement appear peaceful with a pretty harbour but conditions were fairly brutal for convicts at the time. I found a possible relative, sharing my surname, and he was transported in 1840 and died there in 1850. Ebbott is an unusual surname and my father did a lot of family history research, and said that if the person's name was spelt the same way as ours then we were probably related. However if the name wasn't spelt exactly the same, it doesn't mean that we aren't related.
   I now have more research to do to see if the person belongs to our family history.

 There was even a quilt on a bed in one of the cottages,  but I'm sure it was made in modern times to represent what might have been used as a bed cover.

We took the Ghost Tour that night too and the guide gave a good talk but no ghosts were seen. While we were waiting for it to get dark enough for the tour we went down to the area overlooking the rocky coastland. It really is a very pretty place.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Southern Tip and Mt Wellington

 We've enjoyed more beautiful scenery and sunny weather while we traveled to the southernmost tip of Tasmania.  We free camped across from the beach and enjoyed the serenity.

 From there, we drove up Mt Wellington which is about 1100metres high. On a previous visit there was a haze obscuring the view. However this time the sun was out and the sky was clear. We really enjoyed the view of Hobart and its surrounds.

As it rained that night, and we had spent time in Hobart before, we moved on to Port Arthur rather than battling city traffic with our camper.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Taking the Back Roads.

 We've been enjoying taking the back roads and doing more 4 wdriving for the last few days.  The scenery has been magnificent and we have seen the Russell Falls,  the Gordon dam and Lake Peddar.

From there we went to the southernmost tip of Tasmania that it's possible to visit by car. More photos to follow. As you can see, the weather has been fabulous.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Exploring a World Heritage Area.

 We took a boat cruise on the Macquarie Harbour from Strahan. Five years ago we took the same cruise and enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again. Macquarie Harbour is the second largest harbour in Australia, Port Phillip Bay adjoining Melbourne, being the largest.
   We went out through Hell's Gate which is where the sailing ships had to enter the harbour. It's only 60 metres wide and 20 metres deep so required some skilled sailing. As the weather was so calm, we traveled as far as the open sea, out to the Sorrell lighthouse, and we had lovely sunny conditions, seeing schools of dolphins in the harbour as well.
    From Hell's Gate we traveled to Sarah Island, which was settled as a convict settlement for prisoners who re-offended, and it was in use from the early 1820s for 12 years.
  The tour supplied an excellent guide who was able to bring the history to life. Although we had seen it before, we still enjoyed it again and probably learned more this time.
      The last photo shows the remains of the slips of the boat yards where the convicts built many ships, large and small. From Sarah Island we traveled up the Gordon River, near where the Franklin River joins it, and we disembarked at a Heritage Area to learn about the flora and fauna, as well as seeing the famous Huon Pine trees.
  We had a really enjoyable day and would take the same tour again if we return to Strahan, Tasmania. Our only complaint would be  that we would like more time on Sarah Island again. We're both history buffs and love learning more about early days in settling the Australian colonies.
 The adventure continues tomorrow. Thanks for enjoying the journey via my blog.
Hugs, Jan Mac